Be the rookie
by phantomsfaced
Summary: Some trollcops AU drabble-ish stuff that I did. Meant for tealtang's (on tumblr) specific trollcops AU, so this piece mostly consists of some one-sided pale Solrezi. Reviews would be appreciated!


Your name is Sollux Captor, and you shouldn't be here this late. Your partner, Terezi Pyrope, always tells you that. In your personal opinion, she's a hypocrite. You've never seen her even leave the office. She says that she doesn't mind the lightmares, but that's a blatant lie.

You've told her many times that sleeping without sopor isn't good for her health. At this point, she's so sleep-deprived that you don't think she even hears you.

The door to the office opens with a satisfying click. You turn around, closing it as you let your gaze sweep the room. Soft beams of moonlight shone through the windows, bathing the office in light. The only view this late at night is a starless, black sky, but it's pleasant all the same. Everyone's gone home already, but you sure as hell didn't blame them. This line of work got you tired faster than you can say "coffee". The office was empty as a result, though - all the lamps off save for one. If you hadn't been . That warm glow of light that seemed to stretch across the entire room was enough to let you know.

You let out a soft sigh. Sometimes you thought you should leave the matter be. Let Terezi work as late as she wanted on the Serket case, right? It's her life, she can do whatever the hell she wants. But try as you might, you can't. You're pale crushing so hard on Terezi Pyrope that you physically cannot let her do this to herself.

So you just walk over to her desk and tap her on the shoulder. Her shoulders twitch at the surprise, but it only takes a few seconds for her to relax. She turns around, clutching the case file, her fingers still on the Braille patterns.

"Hey, rookie." she says, her mouth stretching into a weak smile. Just by looking at her, you can tell that Terezi's been working too hard on the case. Behind her red glasses you can see teal-tinted bags. Her eyelids are drooping over her blank red eyes, which isn't a good sign. She trades the paperwork for a coffee mug, attempting to take a sip. It takes her three tries before she actually gets some in her mouth, though. _That's the look of a troll who needs someone to help her get it together_, you think.

"Hey, TZ. Burning the midnight oil again?" you reply. She raises an eyebrow and grins, setting her coffee back down. "Pssh, it's not that late, I -" she stops when she catches a glimpse of the clock. "Oh. Right then, midnight oil. Totally being burnt right now." You wonder if she's ever checked the clock when she works late. Knowing her, she's so wrapped up in JUST1C3 that she doesn't notice time passing. "Terezi, don't you think you're pushing yourself a little too hard on this case?" you ask, leaning over the desk. Terezi looks a bit offended that you even suggested that. "Captor, this is nothing." she proclaims, slamming her hand down on the desk so hard that her mug shakes. You narrow your eyes at her. "But you have to admit that you're tired, right? You haven't slept in...shit, almost a week."

Her face falls at your words, and she actually looks serious for once. "You're right. I am tired." she admits. You're about to say something like 'finally, I'm glad you're acknowledging that you're overworked'. when she breaks into a grin, says "Tired of your bullshit!". She just looks away after that. She proceeds to drown out any snarky responses in rustling papers. Before you can make a move to stop here, she buries herself in the Serket case all over again. "Terezi -" you start, frowning. She waves you off, not shifting her gaze from the case file. "Move along, rookie. Get some sleep." You purse your lips and look at her. She's not going anywhere, not tonight. And you have to lose some battles before you win others, right?

As you open the door again, you look back at the warm light of Terezi's desk lamp. Light illuminates her features as she runs her calloused hands over the Braille files. You can see her mumbling to herself and jotting down jumbled notes on the paper in red pen.

You hope this case gets wrapped up soon.


End file.
